Wedding Plans

To all of you women who have had normal weddings:

How did you do it?

My tiny little wedding has stressed me out beyond belief, and my mom has done everything she can to take the stress off it me. Is it because I'm pregnant? Is it because I'm already high strung as it is? I was worried about who was coming, more worried about who couldn't come, worried about pleasing everyone to the point that I didn't even want a wedding anymore.

[I mention being high strung because apparently the men in my life seem to believe this. Yes, father and Chris, I'm talking about you. Don't think I am unaware of your telephone chats. Yes, it's weird. Yes, it's unnerving that my fiance and father get along so well and talk about me when I'm in the other room. I prefer this over you not getting along, but sometimes I wonder what you talk about when I'm not listening!]

However, after meeting with the pastor last night, I feel 100% better about everything. Talking to him really put everything into perspective. We're getting married. That's the important part. Like my mom said, our families are coming together to celebrate our marriage. I can't really stress out about spending the rest of my life with the man I love.

The meeting with the pastor was interesting, but helpful. He asked us why we were in such a hurry. Chris kind of gestured towards my belly. Thanks, hon. The pastor said "well, why now? Why not 3 months ago?"

Yeah, why not 3 months ago?

Chris said he wanted to save up for the ring. Honestly, I didn't even want a ring. Not that I don't absolutely love the ring he got me. It's sparkly and beautiful and perfect. Okay, maybe I wanted a ring but I didn't absolutely need a ring. But I respect him for wanting to do things 'right.' And the ring is nice too.

We told the pastor we've been talking about marriage for quite a while. He said, "you've been doing more than talking!" Well, yes. Thanks for pointing that out.

He asked if we were living together. Yes. He just shook his head. For a minute I was kind of afraid that he was going to tell us he couldn't marry us because we were living in sin. Fortunately, he's not that kind of pastor. He said he wasn't judging us or criticizing us, just trying to get a complete picture of our relationship.

He asked Chris if he was ready to marry me. He asked him like 5 times. Does he think I'm not marriage material? Come on now! I thought he'd ask me if I was ready. No, he asked "do you think Chris is ready?" Poor Chris. I told him absolutely, without a doubt. We don't want to get married again someday, this is a forever decision and we know that. I don't want Chris around just because I think Emily needs a father. I want Chris around because I love him. We may have done things a little backwards, but I'm happy with the final result. I think we have a pretty awesome little family.

In other fun wedding news, I got my dress! I went shopping with my mom and sister last weekend and found a super cute black and white strapless dress at A Pea in the Pod. I also found shoes and jewelry and made an appointment to get my hair done Saturday morning. All I need is a pedicure tomorrow or Friday and I'll be ready! My mom ordered the cake, which is going to be delicious. Chris wasn't too excited about a cake at first (it was a simple wedding, remember?) but after I told him about it he changed his mind.

Is it bad that I'm almost as excited about the cake as I am about the rest of the wedding?

Mom is picking out flowers tomorrow and she is personally putting the bouquet and centerpieces together tomorrow night with a friend. It's going to be beautiful!

Most importantly, we got our license on Monday so the whole thing is legal. The marriage license is all sorts of official looking.

I'll be Jessica Tyre in three days! Three days!!

30 weeks!

30 weeks. That's 75%. When you think about it, that's a solid C. Passing, but nothing to brag about. I really want to be in the A+ range.

In baby related news, nothing too spectacular or new has been going on this past week. She is still moving around a lot, but not kicking so hard anymore. That might have something to do with the fact that she is running out of room and can't get as much force and speed on those kicks as she used to. In the next 10 weeks she's going to get very squished.

When I eat, I feel like I'm going to pop. Like, if you were to stick a pin in my belly I feel like I would pop. Like a big balloon. So uncomfortable.

Speaking of comfort, does anyone care to tell me what that feels like? I seem to have forgotten. I hurt when I lay down to sleep. I hurt when I'm sitting on the couch. I really hurt while I'm driving in the car. My back KILLS when I'm at my desk at work. I'm ok when I'm sitting on the toilet. When I walk for too long, I start to feel like someone kicked me in the crotch, really hard, and that hurts even if you're a girl.

I realized this week that I can't remember what my belly used to look like. You know, when it was flat? I thought I could stand to lose a few pounds back in January. What the heck ever, Jessica. Look at you now! Granted, I don't look bad. I'm sorry to those women who gained 80 pounds during pregnancy, but I am so glad my weight gain has been on track so far. At the beginning, I was honestly worried that my skin couldn't stretch. I mean, I know that it happens, I just couldn't imagine it.

I also don't remember the last time I zipped up a pair of pants. I'm going to be walking around with my fly down for weeks after I get out of these maternity pants. Now I just pull up and go. Like a 4 year old.

I read that Emily can see light when her eyes are open. Kind of like when you shine a flashlight through the palm of your hand- she sees the light in a red tint. You could say she sees her world through rose colored glasses right now. I like to think she's fairly content in there. I've been feeding her well. Lots of fruit, as many veggies as I can stomach (read: not many, but they're there) and the occasional (almost daily) bowl of ice cream. What a life.

She's also finally losing her body hair. According to the books I've read, up until recently she's been covered in a kind of fur, like Roger I guess. It kept her warm. Now she's starting to fatten up so she doesn't need it anymore. Go Emily! Put some meat on those bones!

Now I'm off to meet my mom to plan my wedding. Because I'm getting married. Next weekend. With a pretty dress and flowers and family and the most amazing man in the world. I can't wait.

I'm getting married in 10 days and...

My grandparents from Pennsylvania are going to be here!!!!

I can't tell you how happy that makes me, it's going to be the best wedding ever. I thought that with such short notice they wouldn't be able to make it. I really wanted them here but knew it was a longshot. But now they're coming!

July 31st is my wedding day AND my grandpa's birthday. He said he couldn't ask for a better birthday present, they're just so excited.

Happy dance!

I'm Engaged!!!

It's a sad day for the single women of our tiny little town. One of Blanco's finest bachelors is officially off the market. Not that anyone would have gotten near him before we were engaged, considering he had a crazy pregnant woman following him around everywhere.

I can't help it. You'd be the same way if you managed to sink your claws into trap trick enchant a man like him.

Now, it wasn't a complete surprise. We have been talking about marriage for a while now. A long while, I may add. We discussed getting married before the baby arrives. Considering she is going to be here about 10 weeks from now, I was really hoping he'd ask me soon. I'll admit that I haven't been very patient.

Last Tuesday, Chris asked if I'd like to go out to dinner with him the following night. So I don't have to cook, he said. Well, we had just discussed a new budget in which we would not go out to eat, but cook at home instead. He said he knew I'd had a few rough days at work and he thought he'd treat me to a nice dinner. I couldn't argue, it sounded great. He told me to pick out a restaurant on the Riverwalk in San Antonio.

Wait, so he's taking me to a nice dinner AND he's driving out to San Antonio on a Wednesday...

Maybe my cooking has been lacking? Honestly, I was more concerned over which restaurant to pick because I was tired of cooking. It's hard to cook when you have to stand a foot away from the stove so you don't burn your belly. I picked one- I can't remember what it was now, but I even looked up prices and reviews to make sure it was good, but not too good, so I didn't feel guilty about it.

He met me at work on Wednesday. I had packed a cute dress so I didn't have to wear my smelly work clothes out. He looked good, I told him. He didn't seem nervous, so I figured we were just going to dinner. As we were driving out, he said "It's a little too early for dinner, I'm not really that hungry yet. Let's go there, I think you can pay to go up to the top and see the view of San Antonio." [points to the Tower of Americas]

I'm in. That thing looks awesome. We discuss how tall it is. Is it as tall as the Space Needle? Isn't there one like that in Dallas, but it's a big ball or something? Yeah, I think there's a restaurant at the top of the one in Dallas. How the heck do we get over there?

We found it, we parked, I stopped to look at a map. I act like I know what I'm doing. "We want to go to that elevator, the one that goes to the observation deck." Chris politely pretends to listen to me. We walk inside. We get in line for the elevator. The WRONG elevator. "Chris, we aren't going to the restaurant, we're in the wrong line."

"I think this is the right one. I'm starving, let's just eat here."

Okay? When the man is hungry it's best to feed him right away, so I don't complain. I begin to get suspicious, but I don't complain. The ride up was awesome. You get to look out a glass window as you go up a million stories (I don't know how high it was but I got a little dizzy at one point). We walked into the restaurant, Chris says "reservation for Tyre."

Mmm hmm, he's up to something. Is he going to propose? No, if I think he's going to then he's not going to and I'm going to get all excited over nothing. Just enjoy your dinner. Hey, that steak looks good...

We're seated and Chris points out that the room is slowly rotating. I freak out a bit. Once I realize we're moving, I get a little dizzy. Like if I stay in my car when it's parked on the ferry going over to Port Aransas. We start talking and the dizziness goes away. We order our meal, we both got steak and shrimp. It was delicious. We ordered dessert even though I was stuffed. I ate it all, it was delicious. I had stopped wondering about what he was up to by now because I was distracted by the food and the view.

Then he stands up. To "stretch." Except he gives me this funny look as he's standing. I go back to looking out the window, thinking this "stretch" is a walk to the bathroom or something. Then he's on the ground next to me. No, not passed out. On his knee. Oh good God.

He starts talking to me. It makes me cry. I buried my face in his neck because I thought everyone was looking and I didn't want them to see the pregnant girl crying. He says everything right but I can't really remember exactly what it was he was saying. I just kept nodding my head. He stopped talking, I may have continued nodding, I'm not sure. "Is that a yes?" I nod a little harder.

There are few times in my life that I am completely speechless. This was one of them.

I managed to get out "You made me cry in front of everyone!" Smooth, Jess. I know I said "I love you" at some point. He put the ring on my finger and everyone clapped. Like in a movie, it was kind of weird.

Everything after that is pretty unimportant because I was just SO happy that I kind of floated through the rest of the evening. The people at the table next to us took a picture.

You can tell we're genuinely happy because our eyes are all squinty.

29 weeks, glucose test

I had my glucose test this week. I was scared. Last time they drew blood I passed out, so I feel like I'm a little justified in being scared. I had to fast for 8 hours so I scheduled my appointment at 8am so I just skipped breakfast instead of starving myself all day. Chris wasn't sure if he'd be able to get out of work to come with me and that made me even more scared.

Yeah, I'll be giving birth to a baby soon and I'm afraid of having some blood drawn. Awesome.

He called when I was driving to the doctor and said he'd be there a little late. Whatever, he'll be there, I was happy. I asked if his boss gave him a hard time- apparently he said "she's a bigger wuss than my wife!" Wow, thanks a lot a-hole. I was already so upset about the appointment that I just started crying. Ugh.

I finally got to see the nurse around 8:40 and Chris came in with me. I thought I'd drink my gross orange drink, wait an hour, then give up my veins. They had some confusion with my paperwork, left the room, said they needed to call someone because I wasn't their patient... this just made me more upset. They said they had to take blood before AND after the drink. Cool. I managed to get through it just feeling a little lightheaded. The drink was okay at first and pretty disgusting towards the end.

My doctor's assistant stopped by and said she was ready to see me so we went back to her office. She saw the bandaid on my arm, asked why they poked me already and then told me they shouldn't have done that. Great. She said I felt clammy then asked if I was going to cry. I told her no, but I thought I might just because I didn't know why everyone was so confused about what they were doing with my blood. Totally not a big deal but I was tired, hungry, and thirsty.

Part of the fasting was no water, which sucks when they ask you to pee in a cup when you arrive. I said sorry, I've got none, maybe after the test.

She said everything looked good, confirmed that the pains I've been having about once a day are contractions and told me to call if I had them 5 times within an hour. Can we talk about these contractions? Sharp pain wrapping around my poor little baby that would literally bring me to my knees if I happened to be standing when they hit. Luckily I've been laying down or sitting when I get them. Labor is going to be fun! Yay!

The doctor went and scolded the nurse for poking me before my glucose test.

Back in the waiting room, Chris said he had to leave because his boss needed him back at work and he didn't know we'd be there this long. I started crying AGAIN. What is my problem? He felt bad but had to go and I wasn't really that upset, I felt like a little kid on her first day of school. I didn't want him to leave.

I calmed down and went back inside, read a book for a while and was a very brave girl when I went back in to let them take my blood again. I did NOT pass out, I only felt a little dizzy if I was standing for too long afterwards.

I decided I needed to eat. Let me rephrase that, I decided I needed to eat chinese food, and I needed it now. I drove a mile down the road to a chinese place to find that it was closed for another 30 minutes. No good, I have to get back to work. Then I remembered that there is a chinese place right next door to my doctor, so I drove back that way, and they were closed! Damn it! Surprisingly, I didn't cry. I got some nuggets at Wendy's and started driving to SA.

About halfway to Blanco I started feeling sick. Not going to throw up sick, but going to pass out sick. I stopped at the house, called my boss and told her I couldn't make the drive. Thank goodness she understood. I climbed into bed and didn't get out until Chris called 3 hours later.

Interesting day. I felt a lot better the next day, and my week got exponentially better. More on that in my next blog.

Oh, did I mention that I have a HUGE bruise on my arm now? Thanks a lot, confused nurse. Now I look like a drug addict mother. Oh, I finally managed to pee in a cup before I left. Guess what? The cup had a hole in the bottom! Funny joke, guys! I got to clean pee off of the seat and floor while desperately trying to reach for another cup to put my faulty cup in. That just wasn't my day.

Baby Shower!

We had our baby shower last Saturday, it was awesome. I'll admit that we were both pretty stressed out about it, but it was great. We weren't stressed because we had any doubts that the hostesses (Lauren and Hayley) would do anything less than spectacular, we were just nervous about all of the people! After I called everyone for rsvps we realized that most of the people we invited were going to be there. Like, 40-50 people. At my mom's house. That's a lot. So, naturally we both laid in bed the night before wondering what could go wrong with all of those people in one place.

Nothing went wrong. It was beautiful.

We got there a little early so Chris could set up his redneck golf game. He spent all of Friday afternoon making it, and I'll admit that I was pretty impressed with the final product. I didn't get a picture of it. Honestly, I didn't get pictures of much. After everyone had left, I said "oh crap! I didn't take pictures of anyone!" Here's a few I took before the guests arrived:

The table with the sweets! (there was also a table with fruits and vegetables but this one is far more interesting, I think you know why)

The proud papa and big brother.



My sister, Rachel.

My other sister Melissa and my mom. (Miss, why did you make that face?)

Lauren's husband, Travis. He made the sliders. They were delicious.

Lauren scrubbing some dishes. Thanks, Lauren!

A few people showed up at 2. We had that awkward 30 minutes where we kind of sat around and tried not to look at each other while we came up with some lame small talk. After more people arrived, everyone began to mingle and I felt a lot better. I wish I could have spent time with every person who came, but it was really hard! I finally just sat down and let people come to me. I mean, it was my party. Oh, Chris' too.

It was great to see everyone. I had some friends there that I hadn't seen in over a year! It was so awesome that they came. Chris' mom's side of the family was there, I don't get to see them often so that was really nice.

We only played one game, and we both really liked it! Lauren put it together. She would ask Chris a question (like "How many younger siblings do you want Emily to have?") and he would write it on a board without showing me. I'd guess his answer and then he'd show it to everyone. If I got it wrong, I had to stick a piece of gum in my mouth. I was doing pretty good until about halfway through, haha. I think we both ended up getting 4/8 right. Not too shabby. It was fun, a more personalized game than most shower games and I think everyone else enjoyed it.

After that, we opened the gifts. SO MANY PINK BAGS. Haha, I didn't know where to start! That was the only stressful part of the day. I felt a little weird opening them while everyone watched. I know everyone wants to see the cute baby clothes, but I still felt uncomfortable. I was sweating like crazy and kept asking my mom to turn the AC down. Chris galliantly sat next to me the entire time, folding bags and throwing away tissue paper. We received some super cute stuff! I'm almost done with thank you notes, which is kind of a big deal for me. I generally wait until the following year to get around to things like that. It hasn't even been a week and I'm almost done! Go me!

After the gifts everyone filed out pretty quick. My friend Laine showed up late so she stayed behind and I actually got to spend some one on one time with her and her man Jeremiah, so it actually worked out that she was running a little late. I didn't feel like I ignored her like everyone else there. We sat around on the couch, cleaned up, and headed home.

Baby shower = Success.

Thank you SO MUCH, Hayley and Lauren! You guys are awesome!

28 weeks!

The countdown continues. 12 weeks left. That's 3 months. 3 months! I have a feeling she's going to wait until October, but we're so close now!

We spent our last week with Audrey and I had to drop her off at her aunt's house yesterday morning. We have been talking to her a lot about going back to Arkansas and trying our best to explain why she can't stay with us. It breaks my heart when she gets so upset about leaving. I know she loves her daddy, and I know she would miss her mom if she couldn't see her either. It's just so hard to see someone her age have to deal with all of this stress. I just wanted her to know that we're not sending her away, it's just time to go back! We finally got her to understand and told her that when she is older, she can decide where she wants to stay.
Yesterday morning she finally sounded happy about going home. I talked to her about her mom and her brothers and she told me that she missed her brothers (even though they're not big enough to play with yet, which is very frustrating for a 4 year old). I cried when I pulled out of the driveway. I couldn't help it. That little girl drives me crazy but I really do love her and I hate to see her go.

It was so quiet at home last night. Chris and I didn't know what to do with ourselves. Our evenings had felt so short the past month. Get home, playtime, clean up, make dinner, attempt to eat dinner, bathtime, get in our pjs, read a book, read another book, read another 3 books, and pass out. Last night we just sat on the couch trying to figure out what to do with all the time we had.

It won't be quiet for much longer. 12 more weeks and I'll be wondering why I ever complained about it!

My baby shower is tomorrow. I am SO EXCITED. I get to see all kinds of friends and family that I haven't seen in months or years! Hooray!

Thanks mom!

My mom is awesome, and I just want you to know that.

I already knew it, but she really showcased it this past week. While Audrey was in town, we took time off work as much as we could and relied on family to help us out on the days that we couldn't stay home. She stayed with some family on her mom's side during the day for a week, but we had a hard time getting them to bring her back at the end of the day because they wanted to spend time with her. No harm in that, it's just that we haven't seen her for 6 months and I really want Chris to see her as much as possible. Every hour is a big deal in my opinion.

So last week my mom agreed to watch Audrey during the day. Super. So, Chris will drop her off at your house on his way to work, yes? No, of course not! Mom woke up early every morning in order to get to our house 30 minutes away before I left for work. That way, miss sunshine doesn't have to be woken up at an ungodly hour and can start the day off right. Mom brought her coffee and hung out until the little monster awoke from her slumber.

She got her dressed and fed, sat through Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as many times as necessary, then took her to DS to play with Rachel and Melissa for a while. Audrey LOVES the big girls, she has so much fun with them and I think it makes her feel very important when the big girls play with her and give her attention. Mom took her to the Belterra pool just about every day she had her, which meant that bedtime wasn't very difficult as she was utterly exhausted from swimming for 2-3 hours straight every afternoon.

If that weren't enough, I got a phone call from my mom one morning while she was still in Blanco. She said "don't get mad at me." Uh oh, why? What could it be? It can't be that bad, can it?

She cleaned our house.

Oh! The horror! The outrage! My house is CLEAN?? And I didn't have to do it???

It was awesome. Apparently my dad's mom used to do this when I was younger, and my mom felt like she was telling her that she didn't do a good enough job cleaning. Not the case here. I know for a fact that I'm not doing a good enough job, but I really do try. I'm tired, we have a somewhat messy guest with us this month, and Chris, well, he doesn't really have any excuse not to help. His words, not mine. [Fun fact: He has been more helpful this past week. He even let me take a nap while he cooked dinner and tried his best to keep Audrey quiet.]

One day I came home from work and found out that my mother had not only cleaned our bathroom (bathroom cleaning = worst household chore EVER), but she had managed to cook us dinner while she was at it. How do moms do that? When Emily arrives, do I get magic powers? Please please please tell me I get magic powers. I could really use them.

I told her thank you. I really meant it. I feel like that's not enough, I don't know how else I can let her know how much I appreciate her help. I love you, mom! You're the best.

Welcome to Parenthood

There we were, standing in line at 5 Guys Burgers & Fries, all excited about finally getting to eat lunch. I look up at Audrey, who is being carried by her daddy, and I see a funny look on her face. Is she angry? Is she thinking really hard?

"Audrey, why do you look so concerned?"

Her mouth opens, drool pours out.

"I'm going to throw up."

Before I even know what happened, Chris is standing there like absolutely nothing happened, with a handful of cantaloupe and corndog puke in his hand. In his hand.

"I'll get some napkins."

I get back and realize that almost none of it has touched the ground. I held out my napkins for him to pour it into. I almost lost my breakfast just looking at it. It looked like the inside of a pumpkin. As soon as he dumped it, he put his hand back and caught the next wave. Then he walked to the bathroom, Audrey on one arm, cantaloupe in the other hand.

I've never seen anything like it. Is this normal parental reaction? Is this a dad thing, being able to catch the entire contents of his child's stomach in one hand? Or is this just that Chris is that good?

But I am Le Tired...

Hey there 3rd trimester, I know we just met, but I think things have gotten off to a rocky start. Maybe you forgot our conversation last week? I specifically asked you (very nicely, in fact) to be kind to me. That's all I asked. But you have not been kind to me.

Yes, you are the last step before I get to meet my little girl, and I am glad that you're here. However, you did not have to give me this god awful acid reflux. I've never had it before. I didn't know what it was until a couple of days ago. I just thought everything I ate was bad and my body was rejecting it. It burns, it hurts, and the gas has got to stop. Please make it go away. If not for me, then for Chris. He really doesn't deserve to sleep in a gas chamber.

Well, sometimes he does.

If you can't do that for me, how about easing up on the exhaustion a bit? I'll admit you aren't as hard on me as 1st tri was, but you are a little trickier. 1st tri let me sleep. On my back, on my side, curled up, stretched out, even on my stomach. You aren't that nice. You don't allow me to sleep on my stomach, on my back, or even on my right side. All I get is the left side. And if that weren't enough, you make my back pain excruciating during the night. You even threw in the "wake up twice a night to pee" thing. Real funny.

Have you been plotting against me with my own daughter, 3rd trimester? She seems to enjoy kicking the crap out of my insides during those few and far between moments of actual comfortable sleep. What did you say to her? What can I do to make it stop? If you're in good with her, can you tell her that if she lets up during the night, I'll buy her a car when she turns 16? Maybe not a brand new BMW, but I promise I'll work with her.

I'm afraid I'm freezing my family out at night. You make me hot, 3rd trimester, and not in a good way. I'm already waking up for a million other things at night, now I'm waking up to turn the AC down. Even with it set at 68 and sleeping with a thin blanket, I manage to wake up covered in sweat like I just ran a 1/2 mile. Yes, 1/2 mile. Why didn't I say marathon? Because if I ran a marathon, I wouldn't be covered in sweat, I.... well, I wouldn't finish the marathon. I'd probably get about 1/2 a mile and say screw it, I'm eating a bowl of ice cream.

Here's a good one- how is it that you make me feel either drunk or hungover 75% of the time when I haven't ingested a drop of alcohol since January? I'm lightheaded. I'm dizzy. I run into things (more than normal). I forget things. The other day I ran the dryer for 30 minutes before realizing it was empty. I forget what I'm saying halfway through a sentence. I'm surprised I haven't gotten lost on my way home from work yet.

Lastly, I would like my patience back. Why would you take that from me? You know I didn't have much to begin with.

I know you don't like me. I don't really like you either. That being said, I would still appreciate you hanging around until late September. I really want to meet Emily Jean, but not too soon. You're the only thing keeping her in there until she's ready.

Movie Night

Chris went to Best Buy today and bought Audrey a few movies. I'm not at all ashamed to admit that I am probably 5 times more excited than she is about this. Seriously.

He got my all time most favorite movie in the entire world, Mary Poppins.

He also got my most favorite Disney movie of all time, Robin Hood. I love that fox!

Then he went and got the new Alice in Wonderland. Ah, I'm in heaven.

(are we sure he wasn't picking these out for me?)

THEN he tells me that he got me a surprise while he was out today. I actually got excited for a second. What is it?

Oh. Um. Thanks, babe. I love it.

I'll just stick with the movies.

3rd Trimester!!!

I made it 2/3 of the way. I'm 66.6% finished. She will be here in 13 weeks. Surprisingly, I am not freaking out. Yet.

I'm just so excited! Our baby shower is next weekend, and after that we can finish getting all of our gear together to finish the nursery. Then all I have to do is pack my hospital bag and wait. Everyone keeps telling me that the last couple of months are torture. I'm impatient and I don't enjoy being uncomfortable, so I'm sure they're right!

Emily Jean is growing every day, it's pretty surreal when I think about the fact that I'm growing a tiny little person inside of me. The other night I was drifting of to sleep and actually comfortable. So comfortable, in fact, that I felt like my belly wasn't there. Like it was flat again. It completely freaked me out and I had to wake myself up and poke around to make sure she was still in there! So now it's comforting to be uncomfortable. Is that what being a mom is like?

My growth chart says she is the size of an eggplant and weighs a little over 2 pounds. She doesn't feel much like an eggplant. I told my sister that she feels like a 3 pound fish that can occasionally kick and punch me. She feels HUGE. She was kicking me so hard the other day it actually kind of hurt, like tiny little jabs right into my ribs. She's only going to get stronger.

I can see her kicks on the outside now. She was moving around after dinner earlier this week and I had Chris come over to watch. He put his hand down and we were sitting there feeling her kick, then we both went "whoa!" when she unleashed her karate moves on his hand, haha. He also felt her when she had hiccups. Or, at least what I think were hiccups. They felt like lighter kicks, every 1-2 seconds, over and over again for about 2 minutes. It was cute.

I had another appointment earlier this week, and I am very proud to say that I have only gained 21 pounds so far. 27 weeks, 21 pounds, I'm not complaining. There's a chance I may go over the recommended 35 pounds, but not by much (if I stay on track!). I'm good with that. I want a fat baby anyway, I'll deal with losing the weight after she's safely in my arms.

I scheduled my dreaded glucose test for the 12th. I go first thing in the morning and I'm not allowed to eat breakfast. They take some blood, force me to drink a sugary, syrupy drink on an empty stomach, expect me to just hang out for an hour and then take MORE blood to test for gestational diabetes. I know I have to do it, but man I really don't want to. I passed out last time they took blood and I had eaten that day! Chris said he'll go with me for moral support. I'll try to remember to breathe.

Here we are yesterday, modeling a new shirt mom got for me!

Kohl's was having a sale, which means that I now have clothes that fit! It's quite discouraging when you realize that the maternity pants you purchased in your first trimester (that felt HUGE) can no longer be pulled over your third trimester hips. Yeah, those hips that I thought couldn't get any bigger? They did. The butt? You betcha.